Prize

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Five young women from Costa Mesa and Newport Beach will compete for thousands of dollars in prize money in the finals of a karaoke competition at the Orange County Fairgrounds today. The competition, SongBurst 2008, has two divisions, youth and adult, each offering a grand prize of $1,000. Three local girls and two local women qualified for the finals during preliminary events a few weeks ago. Karaoke Scene Magazine is hosting the event, which is being held at the Fairgrounds for the first time.

It’s rare when you find a person who would not cower at the task of singing and dancing for the entertainment of hundreds of apprehensive onlookers. But it was with showmanship and confidence befitting movie stars that 22 children and 22 adults sang karaoke for a chance to win $1,000 Saturday at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Three local girls and two local women were among the fields of contestants who put on costumes, popped in discs and picked up the microphone for the finals of SongBurst, an annual, American Idol-esque singing competition held at the Orange County Market Place.

It seems the Sage Hill School boys’ volleyball team is taking its cues from Daft Punk this year. Just add “taller” and “older” to the chorus from the French duo’s famous song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” and that about sums up the approach to this year’s season. “Everyone’s a little stronger and a little more experienced,” said Lightning coach Dan Thomassen, now in his second year at Sage Hill. “It’s a good start for us.” The Lightning, ranked fourth in the preseason CIF Southern Section Division V coaches’ poll, didn’t lose any starters from last season’s 17-8 team, which advanced to the CIF Division V semifinals before losing in three games to Viewpoint.

It was all about glitz and glamour at Skosh Monahan’s in Costa Mesa Sunday. The restaurant and bar hosted a red carpet and Oscar party in honor of the 80th Annual Academy Awards with patrons dressed up to enjoy the event. Lisa Schultz has been putting on a red carpet party for nine years and helps orchestrate the party at Monahan’s. “Each year it has got bigger and bigger, more and more fun,” said Schultz who three years ago approached Gary Monahan, president and chief executive of the restaurant about holding the party at his restaurant.

Orange County Market Place will give people the opportunity to prove they can carry a note in February and March with cash prizes for those who can stay in tune. Karaoke Scene Magazine presents Songburst, a karaoke-style competition held for four consecutive Saturday’s starting Feb. 16, will be at the Orange County Fair and Expo Event Center. The grand prize winner takes home $1,000, with other places taking $100 to $500 awards. Junior division winners receive their awards in saving bonds.

This corrects an earlier version of the story. Councilwoman Katrina Foley has announced a “creative media” contest in which students are invited to answer: “What motivates young voters, and why don’t they vote?” Winners will receive a framed certificate recognizing his or her achievements, along with a $500 tuition scholarship. Councilwoman Katrina Foley encouraged students to “get creative” and stressed that any kind of creative communication will be accepted.

The 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning play for drama, “Doubt: A Parable” opens Friday and will be performed through Nov. 18 at South Coast Repertory Theater. Written by John Patrick Shanley, the play stars Linda Gehringer as Sister Aloysius, a steadfast nun who believes in tutelage and discipline. According to Aloysius, fear is a means to discipline. By contrast, Father Flynn, played by James Joseph O’Neil, is an easy-going priest who wants students to like him. When Aloysius gets word of a possible inappropriate friendship between Flynn and a student, she plays detective and judge.

This summer, with the Anaheim Ducks atop the world of hockey, the Stanley Cup made its rounds of Newport-Mesa. The trophy, which traditionally gets passed to each player on the championship team, logged appearances at Muldoon’s, Fashion Island and the Orange County Performing Artscenter. That last location was an especially fitting one. Newport Beach businessman Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan, who recently had a theater named after them at the Artscenter, are the owners of the Ducks and helped guide them to their first title.

They won’t be invited to Stockholm, but that’s OK with the nine UC Irvine scientists who have contributed to the environmental reports that won the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change its share of a Nobel Peace Prize. They were never really after the glory, just the work. Michael Prather, a UCI earth system science professor, researcher and a lead author for the panel’s reports dating back to 1995, said he appreciated how the Nobel committee named the entire organization as the beneficiary of the award.

A national championship skateboarding event that organizers say boasts the largest purse in professional skateboarding is coming to the Orange County Fairgrounds in 2008. The Maloof Money Cup, a six-event competition with $400,000 in prizes, will be held in conjunction with the opening weekend of the 2008 Orange County Fair from July 11-13, according to information from event sponsors. Joe Maloof, who owns the Sacramento Kings basketball team, created the three-day festival that will include a skateboarding camp, an amateur event and several professional events sanctioned by World Cup Skateboarding.